In My Hell
by Oreana Galena
Summary: Touya tries to shake off his horrible past of being in the shinobi with Jin’s help… [Jin X Touya] [Yaoi].


**_EDITED February 27, 2007_**: I went through and edited the parts I saw needed fixing. If you think there is another part(s) of the story, which is out of whack or needs correcting, then please e-mail them to me. I will be more than happy to listen to your concerns on it in private.

Thanks to those of you who reviewed thus far. You've been helpful and kind in stating what you felt was wrong and so forth. ;-)

**_Author's Notes_**: I thought I would try and write a one-shot for the season being Halloween this month. So please keep in mind this is a **ONE-SHOT**—it won't be going anywhere after this chapter. I want to try and write something that is horrifying but I can only apologize if it isn't to you. The only way to get better is by writing them.

Also please keep in mind this is a **Jin x Touya** story. If you don't like that, don't read it! The couple means a lot to me and I don't mean that because they look "**_OMFG HAWT_**", I like them for two, deep, personal reasons so keep that in mind when you review. Also, I apologize for occasional OOC attitudes but they will **_not_** be drastic changes.

**_Description_**: Touya tries to shake off his horrible past of being in the shinobi with Jin's help… (**Jin X Touya**) (**Yaoi**).

**_Musical Inspiration_**: "Somewhere" – Within Temptation

"Aquarius" – Within Temptation

"Room of Angels" – Unknown (SH4 Soundtrack)

"Forsaken" – Within Temptation

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The clouds were shrouded in shadows thanks to the night covering up the full moon that was high within the sky. As all of the nights before, the rain kept continuing to come down hard at the world beneath it, beating upon the mansion that was masked in the thick woodlands. It seemed isolated from the rest of the world with the thick canopy of the forest nearly concealing it as well as the thick layer of fog that covered the forest area and the mansion. Everything within sight was silent until the sound of someone screaming broke the silence quickly.

The cries echoed down the hallways of the large, two-level mansion. Clocks ticked away though were drowned out thanks to the constant wailing down the hallway, which was lined with candles, old images, and decorative green paper that was slightly peeling in some areas. Wind currents rushed down the corridors, blowing out all of the light within the hall that led to the door at the end of it where the cries were coming from. A lit candlestick, however, guided the way down the long, stretched corridor as it was held by the wild redhead, Jin.

His hand guarded the light as did his wind, which swirled outward away from his body. He could hear the desperate cry of his best friend that prompted him to the door that almost seemed to push away from him as Jin jogged towards it. The door soon within reaching distance, he pressed his hand on the wooden door expecting it to open only to get a resistant response. His fist banged upon the smooth wood of the door harshly.

"Touya," Jin called loudly over his friend, "Are you okay!"

Touya didn't answer forcing Jin to grab onto the gold, curved handle to shake it. The door wouldn't budge once again for the demon. Getting frustrated and worried, his palm eagerly met with the wood once more to bang upon it.

"Touya, open the door!" Jin demanded in worry continuing to wiggle the handle.

Eventually the shouting of his partner stopped, making the mansion die back down in silence once more. The sound bothered him more than the screaming of Touya's dismay. As his hand reached for the doorknob once more, the door cracked open without problems. It seemed to worry him very little as he opened the door further to invite himself into the bedroom.

Touya's bedroom held a canopy bed close to the back wall of the small room. A few paintings lined the parapet as did the dark blue wallpaper, which almost looked black, with designs of white that twisted and turned about on the walls, almost seeming to dance together in a rhythm. The canopy bed itself was crafted in the finest wood and had white curtains flowing from the top as well as pure white linens covering the mattress. A desk was to the right of the bed as well as to the left to hold assorted items on top dealing with dark dragon candleholders, picture frames that were cracked and held images that were torn to the point of inability for anyone to make out what was once placed inside. Black curtains covered the four windows within the room, not allowing anyone to look at the world outside.

Jin looked at the vanity that was close to the entrance before eyeing the curtains that were rustling due to the wind that his body slightly emitted in uneasiness. Keeping the candle holder in his hands, the redhead walked slowly over towards the bed in caution seeing as Touya had halted in screaming. "Touya?" He called softly, making his way to the pure white curtains that outlined his friend's figure. His free hand grabbed onto the drape that was near him to pull them back and view the figure he could see behind them.

Sure enough, Touya was there but lying underneath his covers in displeasure. His face was contorted in what appeared to Jin in extreme agony as sweat crept down Touya's pale complexion. The ice demon's fingers flexed agonizingly there on the pure covers that he rested upon as the demon tossed and turned in his bed.

The wind demon placed the candle down on the nightstand closest to him so he could sit down on Touya's bedside to shake him gently awake. "Touya, wake up," he begged. "You are suffering through a nightmare."

Touya refused to wake as Jin continuously shook him. Eventually the words and relentless shaking roused the ice shinobi from his restless slumber. Pushing Jin away, Touya inhaled sharply as he sat upright in his canopy bed. "What—what is it?" He stammered in wonder. "What happened?"

Jin cocked his brow at his friend while taking a cloth he found resting on his nightstand to wipe Touya's brow with. "You tell me. I heard you screaming down the hallway while I was getting something from the kitchen."

Touya continued to pant heavily in fright as he cupped his forehead in his palm. "The…the candles went out. I was left alone in the dark."

The redheaded wind master took the candle he had brought with him to light the other candles nearby in his friend's room. "Here we go," he whispered as he did so going candle by candle. "I am sure the wind just blew them out." Jin shrugged at the thought as he headed around the bedroom to make sure every candle was relit. Some had burned out due to running out of wick making him throw them away and replace the candles with a new one. Touya's bedroom was littered in many white candles seeing as he hated the darkness. Jin felt candlelight was the closest he could get to sunlight in the world that seemed to be forever dark.

"Can you keep the wind calm?" Touya asked from where he sat in the canopy bed. He remained positioned in the center with the pure white curtains over his resting place blowing softly about. "I don't want to be left in the dark again. This room gets very dark without aid of these candles…"

Jin lit some of them on the floor before traveling to the ones on the vanity to light them there carefully. Hearing of his friend's words, he looked over at Touya with a brief toothy grin. "I can try to do so. These rogue winds sometimes don't listen to me, and they do as they please. I would have to be awake all day and night to be able to calm them."

Touya's chilly hand brushed across his heated forehead to be rid of the sweat that had clung to his skin. It was abnormal for him to feel heat being an ice demon, and it was something he didn't especially enjoy. "I am so hot."

Cupping his hand about the last candle he had to light, Jin turned his attention to Touya with his candle he held still lit. "Will you be alright alone so I can go and get something to cool you down?"

The flickering candles brought a calm to the ice demon, whom refused to budge from his bed covers. "I will be fine, Jin. I am sure the darkness just caused my nightmares. I will be alright so long as these candles stay lit."

The wind shinobi hesitated in leaving. The bathroom he wanted to go to was a good walk down the stretched hallway on the right. His fingers tightly gripped onto the glass candleholder he had within his grasp to show his worry in the situation. "May I leave the door open? Every time I close it, it won't open." Here, Jin walked over towards the wooden door that was bathed within the candlelight, which littered the room. Gripping onto the side of the door, he listened to the hinges creak from old age as he swung it a bit back and forth. Pushing the door so it would slide right into place, Jin listened as it shut before opening it just fine once more. "How odd," he muttered to himself. "It sure is acting weird lately."

"It's an old door, Jin," Touya explained wearily with a rub to his sweaty forehead. "It probably is just being annoying because of its age."

Jin continued to play with it regardless as the squeak of the rocking door echoed in his ears. His mouth shifted in confused thought at the door that had been so resistant lately. "Well, do you want me to shut it or leave it open?"

"You can keep it cracked," Touya answered as he helped himself back down to the plush mattress and the fluffed pillow that cradled his head. He turned to his side to watch the flames within his room dance there within his king sized bed. He had at least three pillows there to keep him company at night and to hold his head as he often slept in the center of the bed.

The wind ninja stepped out of the room of his partner as he nodded to Touya on the other side of the doorway. "Alright, I will leave it cracked. I will be right back, I promise," he insisted before leaving.

The lightening that struck outside illuminated the hallways that made the lower and upper level like a maze. Jin kept his fingers cupped about the lit candle in his hands not wishing to feel around the mansion even if he was trained to be aware in darkness. The thunder roll got worse with every passing minute, but Jin paid it no mind as he headed down the hallway till it broke into two different corridors that had a few doors on either side of them. The lit candles on the walls showed the way for Jin as he turned on his bare feet to head down the hall that was to his right.

The demon's fingers scratched an annoying itch buried within his red hair as he made it to the first door on his left within the hallway he turned within. Twisting the doorknob, he let himself inside of the bathroom that was down the hall. Jin flipped the switch to allow the lights within the bathroom to flicker on. "This place is getting old," He grumbled as he squatted down to open the cabinets beneath the sink to find what he came there for.

The old mansion had been hidden within the depths of Makai for years and nobody bothered to claim it. After an uproar within the shinobi sect that caused mayhem for the two, they found themselves wandering for days until they came upon the mansion. It was unoccupied and made it easy for the two to make themselves at home. The lights were never reliable and that was why most of the building was covered in candlelight. The doors lately had been rickety and were having difficulty opening at times. It annoyed Jin seeing as lately he had a hard time trying to get to Touya who often would wake, screaming from nightmares the ice shinobi refused to explain openly to Jin.

Jin eventually pulled out the bowl he was looking for to place in the sink, so he could fill it up with cold water. He turned the handles marked for cold only to have nothing come out as he had expected. "Come on, dammit," he hissed as he lightly tapped the side of the faucet hoping that would help. As he tapped it once more, the water finally came from the silver faucet as he had hoped it would, filling the bowel up with the cold water he needed.

The temperature about the mansion seemed to drop slightly once Jin worked on turning off the water. Even if the temperature drop bothered him little, he could tell it got slightly colder. "I wonder what happened to the air all of a sudden." He wondered as he stepped out of the bathroom. "It got much chiller than before." Jin suddenly remembered who he was getting the cold water for and feared that the bitter air was a bad omen.

The shadow of the demon played hide-and-seek with the lightening that would on occasion light up the hallways as he hurried back towards Touya's bedroom. The images that hung in the creepy corridor on his way gave him an eerie feeling as the faces, which could hardly be seen in the dimly lit mansion, appeared to be following his rushed footsteps. His deep blue eyes pierced through the darkness as they were trained to do when in the shinobi as he made his way to the door once more that he managed to push open without a problem this time.

Touya heard the hurried footsteps and sensed something was wrong in Jin's actions as he lifted his head from the pillows he had it nestled within. "Jin, is something the matter?" He asked wearily as he hefted him-self steadily off of the bedcovers.

"It's nothing," Jin shakily admitted as he headed back over towards his friend's bedside once more. He placed the bowl he had filled up with water there on the nightstand nearby between two candles where there was an empty space for him to do so. "I felt a cold breeze, and I thought it was you powering up for some reason. I was worried for a moment there." Dipping the cloth he had in the water, he rung it out before placing it on Touya's forehead to help cool him down.

"It wasn't me," Touya said with a shrug. The chilled water touching his forehead relaxed the ice demon regardless of the rogue winds threatening to blow back out the candles within his room once more. "I am sure it was just the wind."

Jin said not a word on the matter as he continued to dab Touya with the cloth he held. "I will leave you to piddle with that," he said with a light chuckle, "so I can go back to sleep."

Touya left the dampened, cool cloth on his forehead that was still slightly high in fever as he watched Jin threatened to leave. "Jin," he began eagerly, "is it alright if you stay here for the night?"

Jin's room wasn't exactly just down the hallway. He had his upstairs near the terrace that he no longer desired to walk out upon at nights as he used to. His bed was large like Touya's though only curved slightly over his head when it came to the wooden frame as it did at the foot of the bed. His room had many candles as well but not quite as many as Touya's. While they were in the shinobi, he was able to handle the dark for awhile, but Touya was never too keen on the darkness and the blood he was forced to spill every night. "I don't know what it would hurt," he said with a grin. The redhead made his way over to the other side of the bed, pulling back the covers to help himself under the white sheets. Jin placed his candle there on the desk close to his side of the bed.

With the wind shinobi under the covers with him, Touya moved closer to his partner to place his hand upon Jin's bare chest. He had always been close to the wind master seeing as it was difficult to get along with anyone aside from the one that was hardly affected by the darkness they were forced to view. His icy lips touched the tight skin of the wind demon gently to taste of his body for just that moment. "I am sorry that I have been such a pain lately," he whispered within the densely lit room that basked within the candlelight.

Jin smiled at the feel of the chill that ran down his spine when Touya's mouth connected briefly with his chest. His fingers massaged the spine of the ice master for a moment before bothering to explore his messy hair. "You are not a pain, Touya. You've just been easily spooked lately." Jin nudged him tenderly with a chuckle in the back of his throat. "And I can understand why, so don't worry about it." Taking the cloth that was on Touya's head off so he could dampen it once more. "Just get some sleep. There is no need to be afraid of the dark anymore. I am here."

The warmth of the water that mated with his forehead helped Touya's eyes close in contentment. Moving closer to Jin once more, he held onto his muscular form to know that he wasn't alone that night. "Goodnight, Jin," the ice demon yawned.

"Goodnight, Touya," Jin yawned in returned, turning his head towards his partner's. "Sleep well, and I will see you when I manage to catch up on my sleep."

The mansion was silent once more with the thunder echoing through the halls. The rain that continuously poured during the night hours joined the thunder that was almost like music to the two demons, who refused to leave the mansion as of late. Bright lightening lit up the many halls and rooms of the building that was hidden within the depths of the Makai forest to show every lopsided portrait, oddly placed marble statue, and empty room that littered the mansion.

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The downpour had stopped almost right on cue when the sun rose. Gray clouds blocked out the sun's rays as did the thick fog that enjoyed lingering about the building, leaving the mansion just as dark as when the moon was in the sky. Touya remained within the covers of his canopy bed peacefully when the dawn hour came within Makai. The candles that he wanted to keep lit had blown out thanks to the wind that traveled about the mansion as well as the wick growing thin. The silken curtains that flowed down from the canopy bed swayed gently to and fro upon the chilly wind currents that enveloped the room. Touya felt the gentle wind caressing his four aquatic colored bangs, which hung from his face prompting his eyes to bat open slowly into focus.

His fingers graced his forehead that still held the cloth Jin placed there during the middle of the night. Feeling of the wet fabric, he pulled it off of his skin to remember why it was placed there to begin with. His eyes graced the empty pillow next to him where Jin was previously sleeping. "Jin?" Touya whispered as he sat upright in his bed to look for the wind demon. The ice demon pulled the covers from his body so he could get to his bare feet. As they touched the cold boards of his bedroom floor, he grabbed onto the robe he had folded up on his vanity to put on over his bare chest and black, baggy pants he wore to bed at night and most of the day.

The ice shinobi headed down the long hallway his bedroom was placed within to make his way towards the kitchen. His arms embraced his form, keeping his black colored robe close to his body as he did so. The tilted framed images caught his attention while walking down the corridor that seemed to stretch for miles. Some were images of the Makai cities and forests and others were pictures of people he could hardly make out thanks to the photographs being so old, rotted, and looked as though they were clawed at. It made little sense to Touya as he stood before one of the portraits to try and make out what was within the photo.

Words that once were so silent on the passing wind became a bit louder. It sounded like someone was whispering with a few other people, hissing, jeering, and laughing at Touya as he stood there in the hallway. Turning his head down the right of the hall where he was standing, he tried to find the source of the whisperers but saw nothing. His hands graced his ears as the words gave him a horrible headache. "Stop it, stop it…!" He begged with his eyes closed tightly, his fingers embedding within his scalp harshly from the painful murmuring.

Just as it seemed to get at its loudest, the soft voices died down at the drop of a hat. When he realized that the sounds had stopped, Touya pulled his hands from his ears slowly to look at the hallways about him. Taking a step forward on the red carpeted floor, all he heard was the creaking of the floorboards beneath him. He took another step down the hallway he was within to make it to the stairway, which was there on the right towards the end of the corridor where it split into two more passageways. The stairs curved about in a half circle on the left and right of this marble statue of a woman holding a jar within her hands. His fingers graced the wooden railing with his index finger tapping upon it in thought as he waited for more of the voices to speak with him once more, but they remained silent.

Pots and pans moved about in the kitchen on the lowest level as Jin made the breakfast that morning without a care on his mind. He hummed to himself as he cracked two more eggs on the side of the pan he was holding. The morning was always the time for him regardless of how mucky and bleak it appeared to be. Jin flipped the eggs with a grin from ear to ear to show his joy he always carried with him. The heat of the stove was really starting to get to him making him get quite dehydrated. He reached for his orange juice to quench his dry throat so he could continue making breakfast as he always did.

The entrance to the kitchen opened slowly, creaking as it did so to alert those within the room that the door was moving. Touya peeked through the awkwardly colored blue, iron door that stood out from the others to see that Jin was indeed in the kitchen as he suspected all along. "Good morning, Jin," he whispered as he kept his robe wrapped about his body.

"Ah, top o' the mornin' to ya," Jin responded as he continued to flip the eggs cautiously though in attempts to show off seeing as he was being watched. "You can wait in the dinning hall if you want. I am almost finished up here, Touya."

Touya looked back up the stairs behind him that led into one of the hallways he traveled through to make it to the kitchen on the bottom floor. There was something about them he just didn't like as they appeared to breathe and watch his every move. "Will you be up there soon?" He asked with a scratch to the side of his sky blue hair.

"Sure, sure," Jin said with a simple wave of his hand. Letting the eggs sit upon the stove for a moment, he leaned against the counter to sip the juice drink he had nearby. "What is wrong with you, boyo? You've been acting quite jumpy lately."

Touya scratched his scalp once more before shaking his head at his partner. "It is nothing, Jin." He pointed over his shoulder at the opened door behind him he entered through. "I will be in the dinning room."

"Okay," Jin nodded as he turned his attention back to the breakfast he was making. "Just promise me you won't wander elsewhere. I almost have everything whipped up."

Touya forced a brief smile on his face before turning his back to the fiery redhead. His bare feet touched the wooden floorboards that led him up to the first floor once again. A sigh passing through his nostrils, he made it to the red carpeted hallway that he took to get to the dinning room that was further down the corridor on his left when he turned the corner that held the rusty, ironed, old elevator. The boards continued to creak as he headed slowly down the hall while keeping the robe around his chilled form.

The finely polished door that led to the dinning hall was soon within sight. His hand gracing onto the metal, he chilled the metal further with his icy touch. Touya turned the squeaky knob to let himself into the dinning room where a table big enough for five rested with a broken chandelier hanging above the table. Windows lined the opposite side of the room, but it mattered little to Touya seeing as Jin was oddly insisted on keeping the drapes closed. Statues of white marble were at the back of the room where the door was he entered through that showed two maidens—one was slightly disfigured and broken.

Touya's hands rolled over the chairs there within the room as he made his way over towards the windows that were covered by the dark curtains, which were tied together to keep them from revealing the outside world. A tapping sound caught the demon's attention; he shifting his focus over his shoulder to gaze at the door at the end of the room that led out into the main spot of the building. Figuring it was just a sound of the house moaning due to its old age, Touya turned back to the opaque dark curtains that were there before him. "I wonder why Jin closed all of them off a week ago." He wondered aloud as he reached for the ribbon that tied in a knot to keep the curtains closed.

The door across the room behind Touya opened, allowing Jin inside of the dinning room to spy the ice demon about to release the curtains to view the world outside. Inhaling sharply, he called out to his partner. "Touya!" His voice was strong and stern; a difference considering the playful shinobi he usually was.

His name being said so harshly startled Touya; he released the hanging fabrics that he had been fooling with to turn his attention to the wild redhead behind him. "What—is something wrong? I have never heard you shout at me like that before."

"I just don't want you touching or messing with the curtains," Jin insisted as he placed the breakfast he had made on the glossy wood of the table in the center of the room. The lit candles on the table flickered slightly thanks to the passing wind currents within the area that conveyed the demon's anxious feelings. "Just—come and eat breakfast." Waving Touya over, he took the plate he made for him to place on the opposite side of the dinning table.

Touya was hesitant at first but eventually managed to bring himself over to the chair closest to him. He sat within the red cushion beneath him, grabbing the fork and knife that were there already in view in front of him. The smell of the pancakes, eggs, and orange juice was a slight relief to him.

The sound of the silverware clanking with the alabaster plates below filled with food filled the dinning hall. Neither of the demons knew what to say. It seemed that was how their meals were for the past few days. Jin refused to speak up and be as talkative as he used to be, and Touya was never the one to monopolize the conversation. Both continued eating their meal until the wind blew harshly for a second to blow out the candles lit there on the table to illuminating the eating room.

"Dammit," Jin swore, blowing a sigh upward to move his red hair out of his face. "I wish there was a way to keep these rogue winds from messing with us." Putting down his syrup covered fork and knife back on the plate, Jin excused himself to head to the other doors to hunt for the matches in the desks up front.

"Hurry, Jin," Touya begged softly as he listened to the eerie sounds that the old boards made all by themselves. "I don't like it here in the dark…"

"I know, I know," Jin sighed as he rummaged through the drawers eagerly to look for matches that he could use to relight the candles. "Just hold on for a moment, Touya. I have almost…found them—ah, ha! Here they are." Jin held onto the box of matches as he headed towards the candles that had blown out near their meal. Striking one of the matches, he covered it with his hand to light the candles quickly so that they could finish their breakfast.

Touya felt the heat of the flame on his cheek; the orange and crimson flame dancing upon his pallid flesh. His skin feeling like it was crawling made him contort his face in confusion, his narrow, icy cold eyes piercing through the dimly lit room to view his hand next to his plate. The slimy, grotesque mealworm, which was on his hand, made him quickly tremble his fingers to be rid of it. Picking up his silverware once more, he turned his attention to the food in front of him only to gag at the sight before him. A pile of mealworms on his breakfast plate made Touya stumble out of his seat onto the wooden floor below.

"**_HOLY_**—," Touya shouted loudly as his buttocks hit the floor hard as did his chair shortly after.

Jin's palms met with the table to help him move to where his partner had landed on the hardwood floor out of sudden fear. "Touya, Touya, what is wrong!" He asked, kneeling down to help the ice shinobi up from the ground.

Touya tried to get to his feet with Jin's help as he stared at the table that steadily started to rise below him to reveal his plate. The plate that had his breakfast meal was clean of any insects regardless of the experience he had endured previously. "I—there was—there were worms on my plate!" Touya exclaimed nervously, his hand extended towards the breakfast plate before them both. He pushed from the wind demon to look back at his plate closer in confusion at what he had seen. "I don't understand…they were right there!"

Jin scratched his head with a sigh passing through his lips. He didn't know what to say to Touya as the ice master seemed upset over what had happened in his mind. "Touya," Jin began softly, his hands daring to touch Touya's shoulders.

The tone in Jin's voice was the first thing to make Touya raise his hands up, spinning around to point directly up at the towering demon. "Don't give me that tone, Jin! I know you're criticizing me, and I know what you're thinking!" Not having the strength to stay put and argue further, he raised his hands midway up in the air as if to surrender before throwing them down off to the side to excuse him-self nonverbally from the dinning room.

Biting his lower lip, Jin looked back at the table that had Touya's unfinished meal. He moved towards his own to sit back down and finish up his morning meal. "I guess I will eat alone once more," he mumbled to himself with his mouth full of eggs.

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Touya wandered the many hallways of the mansion alone throughout the afternoon. Normally he never did such a thing seeing as his legs would constantly give out on him as if he were a fragile, human man. It was also a reason he only stayed within his bedroom chambers frequently. The night hours were always the worst for him. His hand graced the wooden walls down one of the corridors he found himself within. The flickering lamps as well as candles guided his path through the darkness he despised since he was chosen to take on the burden of ice shinobi. The antechambers seemed to go on forever and curve in so many different directions but Touya paid it all no mind as he tried to shake the replaying vision that he encountered at breakfast.

Dragging his bare feet on the floor slightly, he turned another corner that led within a darkened hallway that had no lights to illuminate what was held within it. "Why are the lights down here out?" Touya wondered as he stayed at the end of the corridor.

The cold wind currents could be heard howling outside and rattling against something made of iron. Touya's narrow eyes adjusted to the darkness to see that there was a door at the end of the short corridor. The design was made of iron and allowed the wind and such to blow freely about the connecting passageways. It made sense as to why the candles within that hallway were blown out considering the constant rain and the harsh wind conditions during the storm.

"That door leads outside into the courtyard I think," Touya mumbled mostly for only him to hear. It had been forever, it seemed, since he last saw the outdoors whether from inside or by walking outside. There was something that appeared to bind him within doors, and Touya didn't wish to venture out lately. Though the desire to view the world at least from inside was immense, he was never allowed to do such a thing lately.

There was something about the corridor that called to him but repelled him as well. Fighting both desires within his mind, Touya eventually pulled from the end of the hallway to look at the other doors within the twisting corridor he was currently within. Breathing steadily, he ran his fingers through his bi-colored hair as he rested against the wooden wall nearby. He remained against the wall for a while to relax until feeling a shadow briefly pass him to conceal his light as well as a pair of footsteps that seemed to hurry by.

His eyes opening quickly; he was met with nothing but the flickering lamps and candles within the large hallway he was within that held many doors and a few chairs and desks with dusty trinkets. Touya pushed himself off of the floor curiously. He walked towards the end of the hallway he was within to peek down another that was lit by a fancy ceiling light to light up two doors opposite one another with a few dusty, plastic plants within the passageway. The wooden door on the right that had a busted doorknob was swaying eerily and beating just a bit against the doorway thanks to the winds within the area.

Touya wasn't sure what was going on since that door was always shut before. Standing a respectable distance away from it, he grabbed onto the side of the door to pull it open and reveal the dark and dusty bedroom inside that he could just make out in the darkness. "Jin, are you in here?" He asked in wonder seeing as the wind was acting rather odd within the hallway.

Nothing answered except for the wind once more as it howled and whined within the dark room and the hallway he was within.

Touya closed the door best he could, turning on his heels to head back down the corridor he was within to continue pacing. His hands intertwined behind his lower back, he watched his bare feet drag on the silky, wooden floor. As his feet wandered about the hallway, he eventually stopped right in front of an intricately designed door. It had a beautiful crest up top crafted in gold that wasn't as brilliant in color and shine as it used to be though still slightly elegant. The door was different from the others in design.

The ice demon's hand graced the golden doorknob that had shapes crafted within it, almost matching the crest on top the door. Jiggling the knob on the door, Touya pressed his weight into the door's woodwork only to get a resilient response. "I wonder why this door is locked."

Footsteps brought Touya's attention away from the door in front of him to listen to them as they almost seemed to echo within the mansion. It always gave him the chills to hear. It made him feel as though he were surrounded. His back against the wall nearest to him, he watched the doors within view to see the one on his left open to reveal Jin the wind master. The wind demon seeing Touya standing there brought a surprised expression upon his features.

"Touya, what are you doing here?" He asked, heading over towards his friend.

"I wanted to just walk around," Touya answered almost inaudibly, scratching his forehead with his thumbnail. Cupping his elbows in his hands, he looked over at the door that he didn't recall seeing before that was nearby. "Why is this door locked?"

"I don't know," Jin responded as he guided Touya out of the way so he could look at it. Just as Touya had done, he jiggled the doorknob to try and open it only to find it closed. Putting his shoulder into the door to try and get it to budge, it seemed to refuse to. "Well that is odd. I will have to find the keys and unlock it."

Touya stepped back to look at the door better, still confused about the door. "Was that door always there?"

Jin's mischievous eyes gazed at the door before him with a chuckle. "No, the door just appeared out of thin air. Come on, Touya," he smirked, nudging the ice master gently with his elbow. "You rarely get out of bed and walk around anymore. I am sure you forgot about it." Leaning down to the short demon's level, he kissed Touya's pallid cheek, his hand gracing his back to guide him towards the other end of the hallway. "Speaking of which, let's get you back in bed. It is almost night fall."

Accepting the tender kiss, he nodded at Jin, leaning against the towering demon as they headed back towards his room. "I swear the days seem to get shorter and shorter."

Jin managed to get Touya back to his bedroom at the end of hallway the ice demon knew all too well apart from the others. The candles had to be relit seeing as some had been blown out and others burned out. The night was merciless and came at no time at all, casting the darkness throughout the mansion. Jin attempted to keep the candles from blowing out for awhile by sitting in the bed with the demon he had come to care for and love.

The wind demon's fingers ran through Touya's cerulean hair with the ice demon resting in his lap where Jin placed one of Touya's pillows. Horrible pain managed to creep its way within the ice demon's heels, making it impossible for him to move about for the night. Jin felt bad for his partner, but all he could do was help sooth the pain best he could with warm water.

Touya kept the velvety, crimson pillow close to his face, resting within Jin's lap with a subtle sigh to release the built up agony within his heels. "Damn, this pain is unbearable," the ice demon grumbled through his teeth. "It feels like someone cut through my heels."

"Do you want me to go get something for it?" Jin asked, his hand cupping Touya's head tenderly.

"Yes, please," the ice master hissed as he moved with Jin's help out of the wind master's lap. "The pain is worse than before."

Jin helped the pain ridden demon on his right side, grabbing the covers shortly after to cover Touya's body. "I will be right back," he whispered, leaving the ice master with another kiss upon the cheek before departing from the room with a candle to light the way.

The storm that accompanied the blanket of darkness echoed once again throughout the mansion hallways. Jin's elfin ears wiggled slightly at the sound of the rain furiously tapping upon the building that comforted him and his friend. Turning down the staircase that was close to the end of the hallway that Touya's bedroom was within, he followed the stairs cautiously to the lower level to find his way to the bathroom on that level where most of the medicine was stored.

Shadows that could just pass through the opaque curtains danced vaguely upon the surrounding walls and doors. The darkness bothered him very little as did the taunting shadows that tried to make the demon run in fear. What worried him was leaving Touya alone within it upstairs. The light was something the ice demon had craved and received not too long ago only to have it taken away once more. Jin spoke little about the light and tried his best to bring it inside with the many candles he would bring to Touya's bedroom.

The darkness fled from the candlelight that Jin comforted with his calming wind he used to keep the rogue currents at bay. Soon standing before the bathroom door, Jin wiggled the handle to open it to reveal the room on the other side. The marble bathroom was just as elegant as any other within the mansion. The mirror, however, stood out above the beauty to show it had been shattered in pieces. Shards held on tightly to the frame while others littered the sink in old blood stains. The blood seemed to matter little to him as he cautiously opened the cabinet so that the remaining shards of broken glass wouldn't fall and cut him.

His hand shifted through the many bottles of medicine tables and liquid injections alike; eventually coming upon a strong liquid medicine he would give Touya on occasion. Jin pocked the dark red liquid in his baggy pants; his hands continuing to search the cabinet for something else. "I know it is in here somewhere," he murmured upon the whistling wind. His fingers touching an opened bottle of some sort of cream, he was eager to pull out the spilled substance to look at the cracked container in disappointment. "Dammit," Jin hissed as he threw it back onto the shelf he found it on before bothering to close the cabinet.

Jin knelt down to open the cabinets below the sink to hunt for the bandages he would need to wrap up Touya's pain filled heels. He was hoping to find a large bowl to put the warm water within it but was unsuccessful. Sighing through his nostrils, he pushed himself up from the tile floor slowly with the items he had. "I guess I will just use the other bowl I had with me."

As he stepped out of the bathroom doorway, closing the door behind him, an ominous feeling fell over him. It felt as though someone had just passed down the hallway and walked steadily up the stairways where he once came. Turning his attention to the creaking boards and moaning walls, he stepped cautiously out into the corridor. "Hello?" He called down the densely illuminated hallway. "Is anybody there?"

Nobody answered but the bellowing storm outside of the castle like building.

Jin was still on edge as he headed down the hallway he was within so he could stand at the bottom the staircase to look up at the marble maiden that rested on the next floor between the curving right and left stairway. The lightening that flashed lit up the perfect features of the statue there staring down at Jin with an unflinching gaze. His hand gripping onto the top of the banister, his deep blue eyes remained fixed on the statue as he ascended the wooden stairs.

The flawless beauty of the statue remained from all angles as Jin made it to the upper level where Touya's bedroom was as well as a few other corridors and doorways that created a large labyrinth. His fingertips graced the marble statue that glistened in Mother Nature's angry flash of light. Jin's deep blue eyes looking straight down the hall, he gazed at the door at the end of it to find it halfway opened.

"Touya…?" Jin called from where he stood.

The demon down the hall didn't respond. Jin threatened to call once more but his voice trailed off at the sound of one of the doors suddenly banging against the doorframe down one of the hallways. It was faint, but Jin knew that they were there alone so nobody else should be within the mansion. Index finger tapping against the statue, he shifted his attention from Touya's cracked door to the swinging door he could vaguely hear within the building that rattled his nerves.

"Touya, I will be right back if you can hear me, okay?" Jin called down the hallway, placing the items he held near the statue.

Again, no response came from Touya's bedroom. For some reason it didn't worry the wind demon as he turned on his heels and quickly jogged to the next set of corridors.

The pointed ears of the demon moved about the right and left hallway given to him to hear the sound originating from the left. He moved quickly down the hallway to listen against each door. The door at the end of that hallway caught his hearing as he opened the door without hesitation. That passageway led the demon to another twisting corridor with a few doors set on each side. Jin could still hear the banging of the door within the mansion, only louder this time.

Walking quickly down the carpeted floor lined with ripped pictures and suits of armor, Jin turned the corner to see the door in the center on the right slightly open to allow way for the noise he could hear. Jin stood from a safe distance as he looked at the door from afar, his hands clutching into tight fists. His teeth rolled over his lower lip as he headed towards the slightly opened entranceway to open it further.

Jin was introduced to the hallway he had been in earlier within the late afternoon. Walking down the small foyer, he noticed that the door that was previously locked was now unlocked. The wind demon was no fool and knew that when Touya was in pain, he couldn't move and refused to move at all. Jin knew there was no way the door could have opened without one of the people in the mansion finding the keys and doing so. His hand gracing the planks on the wall nearby, he eyed the banging door that the wind was playing with.

"Hello?" Jin called once more, raising his hand to silence the wind for a moment. "Is somebody in there? If you are, come out or I will come in there after you!" Jin wasn't too keen on trespassing demons. He was ready to fight if that were the case when it came to the abandoned building he took as his home away from the shinobi sect. When nobody bothered to exit the room, he walked slowly forward, thrashing his hand down quickly to his right to order the wind to open the door for him-self.

The door flew open, banging against the wall to reveal the dark room inside. His wind lifting him several inches off of the mansion floor, Jin glided on his wind towards the doorway without hesitation to the entrance that had previously been stubborn. He landed in front of the doorway to look within the room he hadn't been in and, honestly, didn't really remember being there either. His fingers gracing the smooth wood that created the entranceway, Jin allowed himself on inside to eye the area cautiously with the shinobi seriousness he often repressed. Windows that were not covered were unlatched and allowing the rain to come pouring into the room where he could clearly see a desk with two towering bookshelves standing on either side of him.

Jin wasted no time hurrying across the floor to latch the windows shut, the rain beating on him as he did so. His breath labored, Jin wiped his face with disgust as he rid himself of the droplets that mated with his skin. Sniffing the air to try and find a trace of any demon nearby, he could find none. Only the vague scent of pine from the trees outside graced his senses as he tried not to slip on the mess that the rain created on the boards below.

"I will have to clean this mess up before Touya sees it," he sighed to himself as he removed his attire to be rid of the wet mess he was now wearing.

The demon making his way back out of the room to find something to clean up the disorder, the candles quickly lit with a subtle calling of the wind. His deep blue eyes turned to look at the lit candles on the desk with the dark covering most of his body except for the contours of his skin that lit up thanks to the flickering candlelight. From the small amount of light granted the room, Jin could see some of the books lining the shelves on both sides of him. Walking over to the one on his right, he touched the spine of one of the books to try and wipe off the cobwebs and dust that had collected with the leather binding.

Jin could make no sense of the title, which appeared to be written in gibberish to him. Furrowing his brow in wonder, he opened the book to look at the slightly browned pages that showed their age. Dust partials rolled off of the old pages he turned as he took in the words that were written there, eyes widening through every sheet he turned. Witnessing enough, Jin closed the book quickly within his hands before placing it back where he found it amongst the others.

A burst of cold air engulfed his body as he held onto himself tightly to try and make his form warm once more. Jin walked over towards the candles, stepping into the light to show a bit of crimson blood splattered on his chest. "I will have to close off these windows so he will be spared," Jin whispered for only him to hear, his wind blowing out the candles once more to darken it as it was.

The curtains within Touya's bedroom blew about tenderly and in sync with those flowing down from the canopy bed he took as his own. The pain within his heels started to burn as he withered slightly under the covers, groaning. "Jin," he whined with a hiss, "where are you?"

The candles began to flicker due to the wind that began to gain aggression. More of the lights within the room blew out with one sweep of the wind that rolled across Touya's vanity. The wind was so quick that it caught the ice demon's attention, snapping him out of his deep hole of pain. Panting heavily, sweat gleaming from his pallid complexion, he looked worryingly about the bedroom.

"Jin?" Touya called through his heavy breaths.

Nobody answers but the wind once more. The cold currents of air caressed the remaining candles within the room one by one as if it had a mind of its own. With the lights gone once more, Touya was left alone within the darkness of the room. Closing his eyes, he could witness the memories of the shinobi he wished to never remember flashing quickly in front of him with every passing moment he sat there in the shrouded darkness. His fingers digging into his bi-colored hair, he tossed his head from side to side in mental agony.

He could see the demons he was forced to kill with the blood money he was given for such a task. The blood spilling on the ground as well as mating with his dark attire, he cringed at being reminded of the darkness that always shrouded him and gave him horrible nightmares even to that day. His fingers flexed and grabbed tightly onto the covers that were around him as he tried to fight off the images in his head. "Go away," he demanded softly at first. "**_GO AWAY_**!" Touya yelled louder at the snickering he could hear from within the mansion that reminded him all too much of the horrible leader they were forced under.

Jin could hear the yelling from down the hall once he finally made it to the corridor that led to Touya's bedroom. The wind demon ran quickly down the hall with the items he had that would held with his friend's previous pain. Nearly dropping the items outside of the doorway, he made his way over towards the canopy bed where Touya was yelling out in pain. "Touya—Touya, wake up!" Jin called as he shook the ice demon harshly to rouse him from the trance his partner was obviously within.

Seeing the frightened stupor filled look, Jin hurried back over to the door to grab the water he brought with him to splash Touya's face with a bit of the water droplets on his fingers. "Wake up, Touya!" He demanded once more, praying that the hot water would do the trick.

Shaking his head at the feel of the liquid, Touya sat upright in bed, coughing when a skipped in breath. His heart beating wildly, he clasped onto his white, sleeveless shirt he was wearing that concealed his chest that was dripping with perspiration. "Jin…what took you so long?"

"I am sorry," he apologized, taking off Touya's shirt that was almost soaked in his perspiration. "I heard something, and I told you I would be right back, but you didn't answer me."

Allowing Jin to remove his shirt, he wiped the water from his face with a sigh. "I was asleep I guess. I didn't hear you at all." Feeling Jin instructing him to sit up further, Touya did so as he shivered within the darkness of the room, regardless of the sweats that overtook his body. "What was the sound?"

Jin's teeth rolled over his lower lip as he thought on what to say, not wishing to tell him that the door he had encountered opened on its own. "It was nothing. I couldn't find anything that could have caused the sound." Pushing the covers back off of Touya's hurting feet, he levitated them on a pillow so he could work on them as he promised he would. "I have your pain medication so I will give you that later."

Touya appeared more concerned about the unexplained sound Jin went to investigate as he tried to deal with the pain of his ankles. "What—what did the noise sound like?"

"It was a banging sound of some kind," Jin answered, wrapping his right ankle.

Flinching slightly from the pain that was engulfing his ankles, Touya groaned while massaging his forehead that still had traces of his sweat upon it. "What is wrong with this place lately? It seems lately that noises have been echoing within the mansion and every time we investigate them, there is no explanation for the sounds."

"You've been hearing sounds too?" Jin asked, moving over to Touya's other ankle.

"Yes," Touya groaned with a flinch as his ankle was finally wrapped tightly in a warm, bandage. "I hear whispers in the hallway, doors slamming and creaking open on their own when there is nobody there…" Pausing for a moment, he looked up at Jin with a bit of wonder in his eyes. "…And seeing things like mealworms in my food and blood in the water…"

Jin seemed to be disturbed by the things Touya said though he didn't voice them; he merely expressed it. He turned towards the desk close to the right side of the bed where he stood to take the crimson medicine he brought for Touya's pain. A silver spoon next to the vile of medicine, he filled it up with the liquid medicine, cupping the back of the ice demon's head to help support him. "Here you go. This should help your pain subside."

Touya pulled away from the spoon for a moment, eyeing Jin curiously. "Jin, don't ignore me. Why won't you talk to me about this?"

"I will," Jin hesitantly promised with a nod. "Just take this while I relight the candles."

Touya accepted the spoon within his hand, watching as Jin nervously removed himself from the side of the bed to attend to his candles. There was something about the wind demon's behavior that always bothered him lately. He knew Jin loved to play the fool, but he couldn't be as clueless as to what was going on around him within the mansion.

The silver spoon passing his lips, he took in the medicine that always made him cringe in distaste at the red liquid gracing his throat. "Guh, that stuff is so disgusting."

"At least it does the trick," Jin said with his back facing Touya, working on the candles on the vanity. Cupping his hand about the candle he was lighting, he peeked over his shoulder at Touya to see him turned to his side. Jin looked back at the candles in front of him, raising his hand slightly in front of the others that decorated the vanity, the candles all lit one by one.

The windows within the bedroom began to bang slightly, threatening to blow open thanks to the harsh currents blowing about outside in the storm. Both of the demons turned their attention to the curtains that were affected by the strong wind as well outside that moved steadily on their own. Another lightening strike lit up the room momentarily, followed by another thunderous bellow above. None of the two demons flinched though kept their eyes on the hanging fabrics, which covered the rattling windows.

"The storm is quite aggressive tonight," Touya whispered amongst the two of them. He looked over towards Jin standing near the vanity still with a lit candle in his hand to aid in the relighting of the others. "Do you think it will ever settle?"

"The wind will never settle," Jin answered almost somberly as he headed over towards the remaining candles. Lighting the last candle, he got to his bare feet so he could place the candle in his hands on the desk on the other side of the bed. He felt slightly dizzy and weary prompting him to slip on the bed that Touya was within to share the covers with him. "I hope you don't mind if I crash here."

Touya shook his head as he smiled briefly to express his answer. Supporting his head with his hand, his elbow nestling within the pillow nearby, he hesitated bringing up the subject that was pushed off earlier. "Jin, about those sounds heard earlier and the things I see…"

Shifting onto his back, Jin looked up at the top of the canopy bed with a furrowed brow. "Touya, do you remember what I asked you when we first came to this place when we parted from the shinobi."

"Jin, you're changing the subject again," Touya lightly chuckled.

"No, I am not," Jin responded with the same type of calm laughter. "Answer the question; do you remember what I asked you?"

Touya grunted as he shifted slightly onto his back as well to think about the question Jin was referring to. "Would it hurt if I asked you to give me a few hints?"

"You're hopeless," Jin joked lightly as he scratched his forehead with his thumb. "We made it here, and we spent our time in this bedroom together, and I asked you if you would be with me no matter what."

Remembering the question from a month or so ago, he nodded at Jin, looking at him from the corner of his eye. "Yes, I remember, and you asked me if I would be with you even if we were to pass on. You asked if I would live in your hell regardless, and I told you I would, because I loved you."

"And you asked me the same thing," Jin replied quietly over the storm, "and I answered the same way." Turning over onto his side, the redhead moved cautiously over towards Touya to kiss his chilled lips, regardless of how cold they felt to touch. "And I did so, because I loved you too."

Touya accepted the kiss from his partner, closing his eyes to enjoy the taste of the man he loved. His fingers sliding through Jin's silky, shaggy tresses, he tilted his head to the side to explore the demon's mouth with his tongue. It was comforting during such a ruthless storm and being within such a crazy mansion.

Jin pulled from the deep kiss for a moment, holding onto Touya's closet hand to keep near his chest for a moment. "It's been quite the day for both of us," he whispered tenderly in his love's ear. "It is best we go to sleep now. I am tired."

"You always get tired," Touya responded with a snickering smile. "Whatever happened to your energy lately?"

Jin smirked at the ice shinobi as he draped his arm over the demon's torso. "I lost it a little while ago. I am trying to regain it, and I am sure I will. Do not worry about me, Touya." His nose nuzzling into the chilled skin of the ice demon beside him, he sighed softly through his nostrils, his warm breath caressing Touya's skin. "Goodnight, Touya, and sleep well."

Tilting his head over towards Jin, he rested his cheek within the wild hair of the wind demon. "Goodnight, Jin, I love you too. Sleep well," he yawned, closing his eyes to try and sleep through the restless night.

--

But a sleep filled night was not to be for Touya. Thoughts swirled within his mind as well as hissing whispers that echoed within his ears, making his body twitch and turn. When the voices got louder, he covered his ears and opened his eyes to view the top of his canopy bed with a shaky breath. Sitting upright in bed, he looked over at the other side of the bed to see Jin was not within the bedroom.

"Jin, where are you?" Touya asked softly within the room. Finding it odd that the wind demon wasn't within the room as he thought he would be Touya removed the covers from his body to test out his hurting ankles.

They were slightly sore but not as bad as they once were earlier within the night. Touya walked on them for a moment to make sure that they were not just bluffing him. His ankles remained alright as he walked on the floorboards beneath him. He was worried about where Jin had gone seeing as he was previously exhausted just a few hours ago. Grabbing onto a candle on his desk, Touya headed towards the hallway to hunt through the many corridors and bedrooms for Jin.

The thunder and lightening continued to roll about the numerous halls and rooms. Without Jin at his side or nearby, the mansion felt larger than it usually did. Trying to recall how many rooms there were he would have to check in made him shiver as he wrapped his body a bit tighter in the robe he had about his pallid, achy form. The light he tried to shield from the rogue wind currents threatened several times to blow out within his presents, making him rather nervous as he walked the many corridors to hunt for the wind demon.

"Jin, are you in here?" Touya called as he made his way around the corner of one of the many hallways that littered the mansion. He continued down the corridor he was within, eyeing the many images. Stopping at one of the portraits that were torn to shreds, Touya wrinkled his brow at the sight of the piece. "Why are some of these torn?" Touya grabbed onto the piece of the portrait that hung loosely from the wall to try and make sense of what used to hang there.

The sound of a door creaking open caught the ice shinobi's attention. Forgetting about the torn portraits and images, Touya moved further down the dark passageway to find what door was swinging about on its hinges. The darkness seemed to get worse the further he walked to the door he could see at the end of the hallway. Moving the candle in his hands into the dark in front of him, Touya sighed through his nostrils as he listened to the steady banging of a lose door.

"Jin, are you in there?" Touya asked once more, walking closer to the door at the end of the hall.

Nothing answered but the old house and the storm continuing to bellow outside of the mansion.

The storm had little effect on Touya as he as he pushed his way through the thick darkness to grab the cold handle of the door there before him. Wiggling the handle, he opened it to reveal the area he was in once before in the late afternoon. With his demonic senses, he could tell that Jin had been within the area, giving him a bit of hope as he looked through the horribly darkened foyer of the mansion. The candle he held within his hand was the only light he had, the flickering flame illuminating his path as well as the contours on his face to the best of its ability. Raising the candle a bit higher, he tried to look about the very dark mansion doors to find the culprit to be the door that refused to open earlier.

"The door opened?" Touya wondered as he looked about the hallway he stood within. "It is so damn dark in here. I can hardly see a thing even with my sight." The ice demon walked closer to the swinging door, which caught his attention within the thick darkness. Tilting his head to the side to try and make out what was within the room, he called out for his friend once more. "Jin, are you in there? Did you open the door?"

The wind demon's voice couldn't be heard as Touya's fingers gripped onto the side of the swinging door to keep it open. Raising the candle a bit higher within his hand, he saw the desk and the shelves of books that lined the right and left walls. Wrinkling his brow in confusion at the place, he walked over towards one of the books on the shelf to pluck one in wonder of what was within the small library.

Opening the book to the first page, dust and dirt crept down the piece of paper to show its age there on the slightly browned pages. Touya turned to the next page of the book to be welcomed into the beginning of a young demon's life. Since he couldn't hold two things at once, the ice demon walked over towards the desk in the room to place his candle down near the book that caught his interest.

Touya read the old writing as best as he could, eyeing the Celtic designs on the corners and near the chapter numbers. When he got to the fourth or so page, his expression broke into that of disbelief of what he was reading. His eyes skimming the many words and phrases there placed before his eyes, the demon continued to read in utter horror before finding the courage to close the book. His palms gracing the desk in front of him harshly, he tore from the desk to run back to the lines of books to rip another one randomly from the shelves.

"This can't be," he murmured to himself as he flipped through the pages of the new book quickly to spy the words and phrases he wished to never witness again. Throwing down the book in his hand, he grabbed another one and then another, going into a fear filled rage as he tossed the books off of the shelves to toss upon the floor.

Footsteps could be heard beating against the floorboards not too far away as Jin made his way quickly towards the room Touya had made his way within. "Touya!" He exclaimed loudly as he made his way into the room, finding the ice demon sitting there in the pile of books with his back facing the door. "Touya, Touya," he called a bit more softly as he made his way over to his partner to shake him gently. "What are you doing in here? You are supposed to be in bed!"

Touya didn't say a word. It was as if he had gone catatonic, remaining still and emotionless for the time being. "What are these books doing here?" He finally asked his tone void of any feeling at all.

Jin picked up one of the books from the floor, shaking his head as he had already read some of them before. "Touya…I need to tell you something." Showing his friend the cover of one of the books, he sighed through his nostrils in dismay. "These books are here because they are memories we stored."

Listening to Jin's words, Touya shook his head in disbelief. "That is impossible. How can these stories be here when we never lifted a pen to write such things on our life?" Grabbing the book from Jin's hands, he shook it in the wind demon's face. "All of these things documented are nightmares I wish to forget! Why is this here! I want you to burn this room or destroy these books!"

Jin scratched an annoying itch on the back of his head, looking at his wounded beloved in sorrow. "Touya, that was why I left the bedroom—I was trying to lock this door once more. It appeared overnight, honestly, and I don't know why my mind decided to unlock it now."

Jin's words made less sense than usual to Touya. Looking into his playful blue eyes, he didn't see playfulness there as he often did—he saw a kind of seriousness that startled him. "What do you mean your 'mind'? What are you talking about?"

Shaking his red hair a bit, Jin shrugged slightly, "You mean, you don't remember what happened not too long ago? Touya, do you not remember a thing?"

Touya continued to look at Jin confused, uncertain of what he was getting at.

Swallowing harshly, Jin looked at the piles of books that lied there about them on the dusty floor. "I don't expect much," Jin chuckled softly in attempts to lighten the mood. "Once it happened, you acted like nothing ever went wrong when you woke the next day." His muscular arms embracing Touya's chilled, small body, he rested his cheek into the ice demon's soft, blue hair. "You know that nobody in the shinobi approved of us being together, let alone anyone who saw us together being affectionate."

Searching his distant memories, Touya recalled how they were shunned for being gay lovers. Often they made adversaries pay for their mockery of them, but the shinobi was a whole other story. It was difficult to escape the taunting that was mostly unleashed by Risho and Bakken.

"Well," Jin continued, "we separated from the shinobi and made our way here to this mansion. I found it and thought it to be perfect for us to use to get away from the past and everything that plagued you." Pausing for a moment, he wondered if it would be wise to continue knowing that it would be too farfetched for Touya to grasp. "We entered the abandoned building and made it ours for awhile. Everything was fine until demons within the forest grew hateful towards our relationship and…ambushed us."

Touya shook his head at the way this story was going. "I—I don't remember that. I don't remember it at all."

"Try to remember," Jin encouraged softly. "I slept with you in your bedroom, because you didn't like the storm that blew out your candles that night. We had no more matches so you were left in the dark after I closed the windows to stop the rogue winds, so you asked me to stay with you. I did, but we were attacked in our sleep." Recalling the unknown demons looming over the two of them made Jin's heart ache at the remembrance of it. "They took me and tied me down with one of the demon's holding a sword to my throat. I had to watch as they tormented and tortured you by cutting your heels and then pouring hot water on your body." Massaging in between his eyes to try and stop the tears that dared flow from remembering such a thing, he cleared his throat with a shake of his head. "They beat me, scratching up my body really bad and making me bleed there upon the floor…but they left me there to watch as you withered upon the floor until dying from the severe cuts they left on your body."

Touya shook his head, not remembering a thing about it, refusing to believe at all.

Jin shook his head with Touya, "Still not remembering it?" Sucking in his lower lip, he sighed out his sorrow once more. "After you were dead, there was no point in me living anymore," Jin continued, keeping Touya close to him regardless of the tension he could feel building in his partner. "I went to one of the bathrooms and out of anger I punched the glass on the cabinet, making some of the glass shatter and embed within my fist. I took one of the glass pieces and cut my wrists so I bled to death there next to your body when I managed to drag myself back in there."

"Are you trying to say—we are both dead?" Touya asked in a shaky tone.

"You woke up like nothing was wrong, and I woke wondering what was going on," Jin continued as if to avoid the question, his voice seeming to break. "I began to see something distorted with the world regardless, and so I began to keep you enclosed within the mansion walls…I pretended I didn't see things I did and didn't hear things that continued to call to me every night. I am sorry, Touya, but we are dead and we cannot leave here."

Having so much being told to him, Touya couldn't believe it as he looked up at the wind demon with a quivering shake of his head. "I don't believe you, Jin."

"Touya—."

Standing to his feet, he struggled against Jin who was trying to keep him still. "I don't believe you!" Touya yelled as he threw one of the books out the window that was in front of the desk.

The glass shattered instantly, allowing the rain to come pouring inside as well as the wind. Both of the demons stayed their ground though Jin was quick to grab onto Touya and try to pull his sight away from the now broken window. Touya didn't want to be hidden from the world anymore as he pushed away from the wind demon to look out at the sight he was being denied for so long. The rain hitting the desk harshly, the wind blew the downfall over towards the two demons to allow the droplets to mate with their skin.

The rain Touya had felt before wasn't as he expected. It was sticky and seemed to cling to his skin not as rain often did. Touching the dampness on his face, he pulled his finger away to feel of the substance on his fingers. The candles that were within the room lit up as if to obey the ice demon's silent wish to know what was on his face, knowing it wasn't water. Looking down at his fingers once more, Touya was horrified to find that it was blood on his hands as well as mating with the desk where the rain was falling.

"It's raining blood!" He exclaimed, not expecting such a thing as he pushed his way past Jin to exit the door.

"Touya, wait!" Jin called in return as he tried to run after his friend.

But Touya refused to as he quickly ran down the darkened corridor he had feared before, running to the door that would lead him outside. Pushing open the iron door regardless, he ran outside into the downfall that was tainted in blood. The cobblestone ground was soaked in blood, marring with Touya's bare feet as he ran towards the iron gate, which led out into the old cemetery.

As he was struggling with the gate, he could hear Jin calling out to him loudly. Touya didn't want to be dragged back inside knowing he was dead as he finally managed to get the gate open. Squeezing through the opening seeing as the gates wouldn't open completely, he made his way quickly out into the old cemetery that had old, broken markers littering the thick forested grounds.

"I am not dead—I am not dead!" He repeated to himself as he pushed his way past the bare branches that whipped him in the face to sting him with pain. "I can feel pain, I can taste food…I have to be alive!"

"**_Touya!_**" Jin's voice yelled throughout the forested cemetery.

But Touya refused to listen to his partner as he made his way quickly out of the forest only to be stopped by the iron bars that contained the cemetery. Running into the bars made Touya bang upon them in hopes of breaking it to get free. But the strong iron bars refused to bend to Touya's strength making him slowly kneel down within the blooded ground in defeat.

Jin hurried through the woodlands as quickly as he could, continuing to call out to Touya repeatedly. He didn't want to lose his companion once more. Ducking under branches that dared to slap him harshly upon the face, Jin made his way to the end of the woodlands to find Touya there, kneeling in sorrow. Panting softly at the rush that overtook his body, Jin cautiously made his way up to the grieving ice demon.

"Touya," he whispered pitifully, "didn't you ever find it strange? Your ankles started to hurt so badly that you couldn't move from the bed, and I was often drained of all energy that I had to sleep at odd hours. And, come on buddy, you're smarter than me so why didn't you question my odd, restricting behavior towards you going outside and looking out the windows?"

Touya was silent, allowing the blooded rain to talk for him as he let it soak him to the bone. "Because I trusted you as much as I loved you," he whispered, keeping his back towards Jin. Grabbing onto the iron bars in front of him, he helped himself gradually stand back on his feet. Embracing his body, Touya turned to Jin to look at him with trickles of blood rolling down his face. "I am in your hell?"

Jin sighed opening his arms to allow Touya to come into his embrace if he wished to do so. Enclosing his arms about the surprised ice demon, he held onto his loved one tightly. "Come on," Jin insisted tenderly, guiding Touya back into the forest. "I have something I want to show you."

Touya held onto Jin's arm as they made their way through the woods, heading off towards the east. The woods eventually thinned out to reveal two weeping willows that blew about in the breeze, sheltering two grave markers. Water trickled down a few rocks that were piled up behind the markers that blended in with the thick fog, which covered the area. Touya looked up at the wind demon that towered over him. A part of him went numb from the waist down, not wishing to move further.

"Go ahead," Jin encouraged as he pushed against Touya's back gently to move him forward.

Taking a nervous step forward, Touya walked over towards the grave markers to witness as the fog that swirled about them dissipated to show the names of those engraved within them. Kneeling in front of the markers, his fingers traced the names of 'Jin' and 'Touya' that were there upon them. "We really are dead?"

"Somebody must have buried us, because I found these a few days ago." Jin made his way over towards his bewildered friend, standing right behind him. "Touya, you don't have to linger here with me. If you want to put your soul at rest and leave, I understand."

It was a thought that crossed Touya's mind but only briefly as he shook his head at Jin's offer. "No, I promised you I would live in your hell no matter what, and I meant that from the bottom of my heart." Pushing himself up from the marker that had his name crafted into the stone, he turned to Jin to kiss him on the cheek when the towering wind demon bent down for him to do so. "I love you, Jin, and I will always be here for you."

Jin offered a smile to the chilled kiss he received as well as the words given to him. "Thank you, Touya. I cannot picture this place without you in it. Thanks for facing your fears for me." Holding onto the ice shinobi in the bloody rain, he kissed Touya's blooded face as he gazed at the mansion that lingered in the distance within the thick downpour and cloudy fog.

The misty cloud crept across the mansion's limits as if to engulf it once more within the storm. Hidden from everyone there in Makai, the two demonic souls damned to that place held onto one another, living within their own hell.

**THE END**

**_Author's Notes_**: Happy Halloween everyone! I am surprised I managed to get this thing finished in time. I think Jin pretty much summoned up the reason why things were weird with them. As far as it raining blood, I thought it would be fitting seeing as they spilled blood every night when in the shinobi. I am sorry I couldn't make it out to be this big, long, story but I have another Touya x Jin story to work on so if you like that kind of stuff, you can read that. Hope you had a fun time for Halloween.


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